outdoor furniture

Save Money and Water With These 6 Clever Landscaping Hacks

Kentin Waits — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 10:24:30 +0000

Warm months always bring out a bit of the gardener in every homeowner. The grays and browns of winter transform into the vibrant greens of summer and coax even the most die-hard homebody outside. If you've noticed that your little slice of heaven could use some TLC but don't want to spend a mint, here are a few budget-friendly landscaping ideas. (See also: 10 Gardening Lessons Learned the Hard Way)

1. Plant for Your Region

Plants do best in their native climates. To protect your landscaping investment, consider your region or climate zone as you choose your trees, shrubbery, flowers, and other vegetation. A handy zone map can help you stay on track with your selections and ensure that everything you plant matures and thrives year after year.

2. Go for Low H2O

Everyone loves the look of a lush lawn, but few of us enjoy the accompanying water bill. To keep your landscaping project on budget, don't forget about the long-term maintenance costs. Landscape for your region and climate, and select plant varieties that do well without a lot of extra water. It's not only good for your wallet; it's good for the planet. (See also: The 6 Best Lawn Mowers)

3. Buy in Bulk

Superstores make buying all sorts of landscaping supplies extremely simple and convenient, but that convenience comes at a premium price. Individual bags of mulch, pea gravel, and sod can add up quickly. Large landscaping supply companies can often drop off supplies by the truckload at much lower overall price. Don't need a whole truckload? Split it with your neighbors. Another option for less expensive materials may be as close as city hall — some municipalities offer free mulch as long as you're willing to haul it away.

4. Reuse and Repurpose

The salvage business is booming, but there are still treasures out there just waiting to be found and repurposed. Check out estate sales, auctions, thrift stores, and even the curbside on trash day. Shallow planters can be given new life as birdbaths, old fences and columns can become decorative accents and trellises, farm tables can be transformed into potting stands, and old stumps or blocks of stone can become garden benches.

Get inspired by thumbing through outdoor design or gardening magazines, and challenge yourself to recreate your favorite ideas on a budget. This piece from Sunset magazine inspired me.

The reuse idea can carry over into your plantings too. Is a neighbor's backyard being overtaken by bamboo? Offer to help cut them back in exchange for a few starts that you can add to your own yard. Ask friends and family to keep you in mind if they're removing old bushes, small trees, or replacing perennials. Weave these donated items into your larger design plan to save big bucks on buying new.

5. Turn Your Yard Into an Edible Garden

Over the past several years, there's been a quietly growing movement that aims to completely change the way we think about our lawns.

The lawn-to-garden movement advocates that homeowners transition their yards from passive highly-manicured displays into dynamic food- producing spaces. The movement is driven in part by a local food sensibility that encourages folks to know where their food is grown and spurn produce that has to be imported. It's also motivated by simple frugality and self-reliance — by the idea that we can each take a more active role in our food production and lessen our dependence on big agri-business.

For landscapers on a budget, what better way to be paid back for our labors than to use our lawns to source food? From tomatoes to herbs and from cucumbers to radishes, your lawn has the potential to save you money and put food on the table. Explore how to turn part of your lawn into a fresh, local, and organic produce stand. If your city or community has strict zoning laws or covenants that prohibit such activity, chat with your neighbors and see what changes can be made through the power of organized action. For a comprehensive guide on the lawn-to-garden movement, check out Fritz Haeg's seminal book on the topic, Edible Estates: Attack on the Front Lawn.

6. Get That Green Thumb Dirty

Sure, you may not have a backhoe sitting around in the garage, but there are landscaping projects that you can do yourself. Digging, hauling, planting, pruning, and even some light construction work can help you save big on landscaping contractor costs. Consider hosting a landscaping party and enlisting a few (brawny) friends to help out on a Saturday afternoon. Cold beer and warm pizza go a long way toward motivating and repaying your helpful crew.

Regardless of the scope of your project, landscaping doesn't have to break the bank. With some careful planning, creativity, and help from friends and family, your yard can go from drab to fab in just a few weeks. And now is the perfect time to put those green thumbs to the test — just don't forget the sunscreen!

What are your favorite budget landscaping ideas?

This article is from Kentin Waits of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread:

5 Reasons to Use Your Outdoor Furniture -– Inside

Linsey Knerl — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:00:02 +0000

I purchased a lovely outdoor furniture set this year — the first I had ever owned. It was a delicate white faux wicker with green cushions and would have looked stunning on my future patio. The problem was that the patio never got built, the wind this year was awful, and we soon moved to a place that made it even more impractical to use. Our solution? Bring it inside. It turned out to be the best decorating decision we ever made!

What was supposed to be a temporary arrangement (using our new outdoor furniture in our living room until newer furniture could be bought) soon became the answer to all of our previously troubling decorating issues. Here are the five reasons we will continue to use the outdoors inside, and why we may never go back to traditional furniture.

1. Kids ruin things, and outdoor furniture is virtually indestructible.

My youngest three kids are all boys. At ages 6, 4, and 2, nothing is safe from their reenactments of the fight scenes in The Pirates of the Caribbean and their desire to have their palms forever covered in peanut butter. For these reasons, I love my outdoor furniture. It wipes clean without any special upholstery equipment, and since it was designed to withstand rain showers and the occasional mud fight, it can handle an unexpectedly leaky diaper like a champ. In a few words: My stuff will look new after many months of wear and tear, and I won’t have to scream, forbid fun, or suffer from extremely high blood pressure to ensure it. The same cannot be said for my plush loveseat and sofa. (They smell just like the life they sadly lived for the past few years.)

2. $500 is usually all you need.

Did the idea that I could get a loveseat, two chairs, and a glass coffee table for under $450 appeal to me the most? Undoubtedly. With the amount I would expect to pay for just the traditional living room sofa, I could get a brand-spanking new set of furniture and have it look fresh out of the box. If you’re thinking ahead for next year, you can score a set on super sale at most any retailer once they start pulling out the fall displays. (July or August is when most will start dropping in price.) Even if you go very high-end, you can time it right, and get a more lavish set for up to 12 people to comfortably hang out for no more than five $100 bills. That’s pretty sweet, if you ask me.

3. The look is timeless.

If you play your cards right, you can pull off a complimentary look for most any time period. My white wicker, for example, went nicely with the sandy brown walls in my home. Even if the decor had been pink with blue polka dots, however, I could have switched out the cushions and updated with each change in styles. Outdoor furniture is basic, clean, and ready to rock your choice of interior design — no experience needed.

4. You really can DIY.

The other night, my husband and I found ourselves having a hard time hearing the movie we were watching. We could have turned up the volume and risked waking up our youngest, most-fickle son. Instead, we picked up our light-weight but sturdy outdoor furniture and moved it closer to the tube. No sweat, no fuss, and we could put it right back when we were done. The ability to move the furniture by myself is also a plus when I want to vacuum well, or when we have a vicious game of The Bigs 2 going on the Wii. Even my son can move the furniture when he needs to.

Another advantage is that the furniture came in a box that I could easily fit into my van. I paid no outrageous delivery fees, and I could set it up myself with a screwdriver and a bit of patience. If you’re single or unwilling to rely on others to get your furniture home from the store, I can’t say enough about using outdoor furniture.

5. You can still always use it outside.

Unlike typical indoor furniture, which has a shelf life that may vary by how hard you use it, outdoor furniture can live for a very long time. If you find that you eventually want to go ultra chic and invest in that leather sofa and recliner set, you can — without the guilt of feeling like you’re betraying your perfectly good existing set. Outdoor furniture can always be placed outside again.

If you don’t personally have room for it, it can be donated to a nursing home. You may also find that the set itself may make a nice “starter set” for a college dorm room or newlywed’s apartment. The possibilities truly are endless, and usually don’t require that you set anything out on the curb.

Outdoor furniture is a growing, exciting market. With new variations that include eco-friendly, recycled materials and designer coverings, you will almost certainly be able to maintain all your dignity when substituting traditional furnishings with this more affordable alternative.

*Note - A keen reader over at Lifehacker, brought up a good point about flammability standards. Generally speaking, outdoor furniture is not always labeled and sold as indoor furniture. For this reason, it may not have to pass some of the same flammability tests that your normal furniture will. If you're usure as to whether it does, check the tags and labels on all components (it will usually tell you.) Many sets are made for either indoor or outdoor use, and should not be a problem. Consumers who will be using their furniture near open flame or while smoking should probably be checking their furniture carefully, regardless. (Futons, office furniture, dining chairs, and the mattresses inside fold-out couches are not generally subject to some of the same standards as "indoor furniture." The same goes for slipcovers, ottomans, throw pillows and throws -- some of these can also be highly flammable.) If in doubt, check it out -- before you buy. (And if you store your outdoor furniture indoors over the cold season anyway, be careful of how you store it.)

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This article is from Linsey Knerl of Wise Bread, an award-winning personal finance and credit card comparison website. Read more great articles from Wise Bread: